Combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser



Jan. 26, 1943. P. J. SCHNEIDER l iT AL 2,309,480

COMBINATION SCORE-SHEET SUPPORTER AND DISPENSER Filed Sept. 19, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 1 42' f I f l 47 FIGS.

INVENTORS 'PAUL J. SCHNEIDER p HARVEY H. Hou |s ATTORNEY 1943- P. J.SCHNEIDER ETAL 0 COMBINATION SCORE-SHEET SUPPORTER AND DISPENSER FiledSept. 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOFIIS PAUL J. SCHNEIDER HARVEY H.HOLLIS A BY @WAMI ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 26, 1943 COMBINATION SCORESHEETSUPPORTER AND DISPENSER Paul J. Schneider, Normandy, and Harvey H.Hollis, St. Louis, Mo.

Application September 19, 1941, Serial No. 411,506

8 Claims. (Cl. 28111) This invention relates generally tocoin-controlled machines or structures and, -more particularly, to acertain new and useful improvement in combination coin-controlledscore-sheet supporters and dispensers especially, though notexclusively, adapted for use in bowling alleys and the like.

Our invention has for its primary objects the provision of a machine orstructure of the type and for the purposes stated which is simple andinexpensive in construction, which is operable with ease and facility,which will support and display a selected or measured number of rows ofbowling score-lines in convenient and readily accessible position foruse by the players, which will permit the players to obtain new scoringspaces or lines for successive games by insertion or deposit of a coinor coins of a proper or selected denomination into the machine, which isrelatively foolproof and cannot be operated or actuated otherwise thanby insertion or deposit of the proper coin or coins or similar element,which supports the scoring paper in positively locked position, so thatunauthorized withdrawal of an additional length or measured portion ofthe scoring paper is prevented, which enables the provision of a couponor other detachable stub that may be associated with each'score line orspace and may be removed for delivery to the pin-boy for game-checking,and which is highly eflicient in the performance of its statedfunctions.

And with the above and other objects in vie our invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a reduced perspective view of acombination score-sheet supporter and dispenser constructed inaccordance with and embodying our invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View of the structure takenapproximately along the line 22, Figure 1;

Figure3 is a top plan view of the structure, partly broken away and insection;

Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are fragmentary sectional views takenapproximately along the lines 4-4, 55, 6-6, l-l, and 8-8, respectively,Figure 3;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the structure equippedwith a modified form of coin-receiving mechanism; and

I Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the modifiedstructure taken approximately along the line Ill-ill, Figure 9.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to thedrawings, which illustrate practical embodiments of our invention, thecombination score-sheet supporter and dispenser comprises a suitablestandard A constructed of castiron or other suitable material, and.which preferseen in Figure 2, is a preferably wedge shaped" shell orhousing B, which includes a fixed or stationary bottom wall 4 preferablyof rectangular contour and integrally provided at its upper transversemargin with a vertically upstanding back wall 5.

I-Iingedly attached to, and along the lower transverse margin of, thebottom wall 4, is a wall 6 curved downwardly adjacent its free margin,as at 6', and at its free margin provided with a slightly offsetdepending lip l for snug, lapped engagement withthe upper margin of theback wall 5, the wall 6 being provided at a suitable location preferablyin suitable adjacence to rear wall 5 with a transversely extending slot,as at 8, having a serrated upper margin, as at 9, against which thepaper score-sheet roll may be impinged and pulled for severance, aspresently more'fully appears.

Formed integrally with or fixedv to, and depending from, the opposedparallel side margins of the top wall 6, are sidewalls l0, Ill of tri-'angular formation and dimensions for engaging the bottom and back walls4, 5, in completing the shell or housing B, the back wall 5 beingfurther provided adjacent its upper margin with a suitable key-actuatedlock I! having a catchfinger l2 for locking engagement with the top wall6 at its marginal lip l.

Suitably fixed upon and extending transversely between the inner facesof, the shell side walls I0, is a preferably sheet metal arcuate troughis sized for loosely receiving and supporting a paper roll C, the trough[3 being so disposed with its chamber presented obliquely upwardly :andrearwardly that, when the shell or housing B is closed, the paper rollC, irrespective of size, will be securely retained inthe trough l3 andyetbe freely rotatable for unwinding and discharge, all as best seen inFigure 2. r

Journaled at its one end in the side wall l and at its other end in abracket 4 suitably spaced from and parallel to the opposite side wallIll, and disposed adjacent to, and slightly upwardly from, the slot 8,is a preferably rubbersurfaced roller l5.

Mounted pivotally or swingably on the wall 5 adjacent the side wall l0and upon the bracket l4, are registering or companion arms I 6, I6,rigidly connected by a cross rod l1, and journaled in, and extendingbetween the upper ends of, the arms I6, I6, is an idler roller |8 ofsubstantially the same length as, and yieldingly under the bias of atension spring suitably secured at its one end to the arm [6 and at itsother end. to the adjacent side wall l0, retained in rollableco-operation with, the feed roller l5.

Projecting through the bracket M from the righthand end of the rollerI5, is a shaft extension 20, upon which is fixed a gear 2| meshing witha pinion 22, in turn, fixed upon a horizontally disposed drive-shaft 23journaled at its one end in the bracket l4 andat its other end in. theside wall l0".

Also mounted upon, and having. coin-directional connection adjacent theside wall. I0 with, the drive-shaft 23, is a ball-clutch member 24having a toothed periphery'for meshing engagement with a rack-bar 25mounted on, and presented laterally from, a suitablyelongated. plate 26longitudinally equipped along its upper margin with a bevel-facedenlargement or block 21 fitting for slidable movement in a way formed byopposed. parallel trackt members 28' fixed upon the under face of theshell top. wall 6., the plate 26 being longitudinally slotted withinits. area, as at 29, foraccommodating the shaft 23.v

The shell top wall 6 is also provided with a relatively short closed-endslot 30 positioned" over and in registration. with the path of movementof the rack-bar 25 and its attached slide-block: 21, and fixed at itslower end in the slide-block 21 and projecting upwardly through the slot30' for manual engagement, is a knob, handle, or: the like 3|.

Depending from the lower margin of the plate 26, is a stud 26', andhaving one end: attached to the stud 26' and its other end to theadjacent side wall If), is a suitable spring a for yieldingly urging theplate 26 and its. associated rack 25 upwardly and rearwardly toward theshell rear wall 5, all as best seen in Figures I and '7 and for purposespresently appearing.

Also fixed upon the shaft 23 in inwardly spaced relation to the plate26, is a coin-receiving disk 32 provided in its periphery with a radialslot 33 having a segmental length sufiicient to accommodate two coins ofa selected denomination and having a radial depth suificient to permitthe deposited coins c to project substantially beyondthe periphery ofthe disk 32, substantialy in the manner shown in Figure 6, and mountedin and extending through the shell top wall 6 in operative relation tothe disk 32, is a conventional coin-chute 34 for delivering thedeposited coins 0 into the slot 33 when the latter is appropriatelypositioned beneath the chute 34.

Rockably mounted upon a suitable bracket 35 fixed upon and projectingforwardly from theshell back wall 5, is a short shaft 36 rigidlyprovided at an end with an upstanding arm 31 aligned with the coin-chute34 and having on its forwardly presented longitudinal margin an arcuateprojection 38 for bearing engagement with the peripheral face of thedisk 32.

. coin-chute 34.

Obliquely extending from the upper end of the arm 31 and spaced from theperipheral face of the disk 32 by a distance slightly greater than thechord-width of the projecting portions of the coins c, is a finger 39having an arcuate cam-face 40 for engagement with a peripheral portionof a deposited lower coin c, the finger-extension 39 being yieldinglyurged toward the coin disk 32 by means of a suitable spring 4| havingengagement with the bracket 35 and arm 31, all as best seen in Figure 6.

Fixed at its one or inner end upon the other end of the shaft 36, is asecond radial arm 42 swingable in unison with the arm 31 and provided atits outer end with a laterally projecting stud 43 for locking engagementwithin a detent-notch 44 formed in the periphery of a locking-disk 45,in turn, fixed upon the drive-shaft 23, the notch 44 having acircumferential length slightly greater than the diametral size of thestud 43, so as topermit a limited amount of free movement, as best seenin Figure 5 and for purposes presently fully appearing.

Removably disposed within the housing Bunder the. coin-disk 32, is atray or the like t for receiving the deposited coins c and facilitatingtheir removal and collection when the shell B is opened for replacementor renewal of the paper-r0110.

In use and operation, the housing or shell B is unlocked and thetop-wall 6 swung upwardly, substantially as shown in dotted lines inFigure2, and a roll C of paper or the like suitably ruled and captionedfor scoring, as best seen in Figure' 3, is placed in the trough l3: andits free end threaded between the rollers l5 and: l8 andout wardlythrough the slot 8, as shown in Figure 2, ready for disposition of thepaper of roll C flatwise over and upon the table-top 6 of the shellB,which latter is then closed and. locked.

It being customary in bowling for two people to play against each other,thus requiring two score lines, one for each player, the players nowdeposit two-coins c of like denomination into the The deposited coins c,in turn, dropthrough the chute 34 and into the slot 33 of the coin-disk32, the lower coin c riding against the cam-face 40 of the finger 39.

Thereupon, a player pulls the knob 3| down- 1 wardly or forwardly,rotating the ball-clutch 24 which rotational movement is transmitted bythepinion 22 to the gear 2| and the feed roller l5 given a singlerevolution.

The roller I5 is circumferentially sized in "relation to the printing orscore-ruling on the: paper roll C and the ratio of the gears 2|, 22, issuch that one complete revolution of the shaft 23 will deliver throughthe slot 8 a predetermined or measured length of the paper of roll C toexpose two and only two score lines.

During the course of a single rotation, the disk 32" shifts the coins cdownwardly out of contactwith the arm 31 and drops the same into the.coin box or receptacle t, freeing the arm 31' to yieldingly swingforwardly toward initial position. The locking stud 43 of the arm 42,however, comes into contact with and rides against the peripheral faceof the locking disk 45 until the single revolution has been completed,whereupon the stud d3 will again drop into the detent-notch M and lockthe entire mechanism against further actuation until two more coins havebeen inserted, the plate 26 and its associated rack 25, upon release ofthe knob 3|, returning to initial position under influence of the springs and freely rotating the ball-clutch 24 in reverse direction, and thesharp or serrated edge 9 facilitating quick and convenient detachment ofthe used portion of the roll C- Thus it is evident,since the drivingmechanism of the machine is securely looked under normal conditions, andfurther since the free end-portion of the paper of roll C is heldtightly between the rollers l5, l8, it is practically impossible,without tearing, to pull an unauthorized scoringlength from the roll Cout of the machine. when only one coin c is dropped into the chute 34,the machine will not function, since such single coin will ride upwardlyin the slot 33 as the disk 32 moves through its initial small arc ofrotation, and consequently the arms 31, 42, will not be shifted fordisengaging the locking disk 45.

In this same connection, it mayv be observed that the top or table wall6 of shell B is preferably of such dimensions as will accommodateapproximately twelve score lines, so that a large number of players maykeep a simultaneous score record, such as may be desirable in team orleague bowling. Of course, in such event, it will be necessary to insertthe proper number of coins into the machine for a proper number ofsuccessive times to deliver the requisite number of score lines.

In addition, the paper roll C may be provided along its lefthand marginwith a series of perforated coupons d, one for each score line, and thecoupon and matching score-line may be provided with corresponding serialnumbers, so that each player may detach a coupon at the beginning ofeach game and deliver it to the pin boy, who may later present hiscoupons for payment in terms of the number of games served.

For facilitating the application of scoring figures upon the exposedportions of the paper from roll C, as well as to also facilitate thedetachment of the coupons d, a hold-down member D substantially ofU-shape in plane is yieldingly pivoted at its bight 45 to and upon theshell wall 6 with its legs 47, 41' presented upwardly and extending toor adjacent the slot 8, the one leg 4'! having preferably asharp-tearing edge, as at 48.

In many large bowling alleys where it is inconvenient to maintainadequate surveillance over theseveral score holders, it may be desirableto provide a machine which will be actuated for delivering a singlescore-line upon insertion of a single slug, which may be purchased atthe cashiers desk. Accordingly, we may provide a modified form of coinchute 34', as shown in Figures 9 and 10, having a plurality ofserrations 49 in one side face, so arranged as to accommodate only aunique type of slug 50 having matching grooves In conjunction with themodified form of chute 34', we may also provide a modified form ofcoin-disk 32 having a slot 33' adapted for receiving a single slug 50and, supporting it in position for actuating a suitably shaped rock arm31'. In all other respects,

the modified machine of Figures 9 and 10 is substantially identical withthe preferred machine of Figures 1 to 8, both inclusive, and, hencerepetitious description is omitted.

' The machine fulfills in every respect the objects stated, and itshould be understood that changes and further modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of themachine may be made and substituted for those herein shown and describedwithout departing from the nature and principle of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

l. A combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser including a shellfor housing a roll of score-sheet paper, the shell having a wallprovided with a discharge slot for movement of the roll-paper from theshell, means including a feed roll rotatable within the shell fordelivering paper from the roll to said slot, and means for actuatingsaid roll, said latter means including a rack lengthwise shiftablewithin the shell, and a manually engageable knob projecting for moiementoutwardly of the shell for shifting the rac 2. A combination score-sheetsupporter and dispenser including a shell for housing a roll ofscore-sheet paper, the shell having a wall provided with firstand'second slots, the first slot for discharge movement of theroll-paper from the shell, means including a feed roll rotatable withinthe shell for delivering paper from the roll to said first slot, andmeans for actuating said roll, said latter means including a racklengthwise shiftable within the shell, and a manually engageable knobhaving connection with the rack and fitting for movement in said secondslot for shifting the rack.

3. A combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser including a shellfor housing a roll of score-sheet paper, the shell having a wallprovided with first and second slots, the first slot for dischargemovement of the roll-paper from the shell, means including a feed rollrotatable within the shell for delivering paper from the roll to saidfirst slot, and means for actuating said roll, said latter meansincluding a rack lengthwise shiftable within the shell, a shaftjournaled within the shell and having gear connection with said roll andwith the rack, and a manually engageable knob having connection with therack and fitting for movement in said second slot for shifting the rack.

4. A combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser including a shellfor housing a roll of score-sheet paper, the shell having a top wallprovided with first and second slots, the first slot for dischargemovement of the roll-paper from the shell, means including a feed rollrotatable within the shell for delivering paper from the roll to saidfirst slot, and means for actuating said roll, said latter meansincluding a longitudinally slotted elongated plate slidably shiftableupon the under face of said shell-wall, a rack mounted on and presentedlaterally from said plate, a shaft journaled within the shell andprojecting through the slot of said plate, said shaft having gearconnection with said roll and with the rack, and a manually engageableknob having connection with the rack and fitting for movement in saidsecond slot for shifting the rack.

5. A combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser including a shellfor housing a roll of score-sheet paper, the shell. having a wallprovided with a discharge-slot for movement of the roll-paper from theshell, means including a feed roll rotatable within the shell fordelivering paper from the roll to said slot, means including a shaftjournaled within the shell for actuating said roll, and means forsuccessively limiting the rotary movement of said shaft for measuringthe portions of the paper-roll delivered by the feed roll to said slot,said latter means including a notched disk fixed on the shaft, an armyieldingly swingable within the shell, and a stud on the arm forremovably engaging the disk at said notch.

6. A combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser including a shellfor housing a roll of score-sheet paper, the shell having a wallprovided with a discharge slot for movement of the roll-paper from theshell, means including a feed roll rotatable within the shell fordelivering paper from the roll to said slot, means including a shaftjournaled within the shell for actuating said roll, means for lockingthe shaft against rotary movement, said latter means including a notcheddisk fixed on the shaft, an arm yieldingly swingable within the shell,and a stud on the arm for removably engaging the disk at said notch, andmeans for actuating said arm for disengaging the stud from the disk forpermitting limited rotary movement of said shaft for enabling measuredportions of the paper-roll to be delivered by the feed roll to saidslot.

7. A combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser including a shellfor housing a roll of score-sheet paper, the shell having a top wallprovided with a discharge-slot for movement of the roll-paper from theshell, means for successively delivering measured portions of the rollto and through the slot and upon said wall for scoring use, and U-shapedmember hinged at its bight to and upon said wall for holding down theroll-paper delivered thereupon.

8. A combination score-sheet supporter and dispenser including a shellfor housing a roll of score-sheet paper, the shell having a top wallprovided with a discharge-slot for movement of the roll-paper from theshell, a trough within the shell for surface-resting of the roll forrotation, means comprising a feed roll disposed within the shell and amanually engageable knob shiitable upon the shell for delivering paperfrom the roll to the slot, and means for successively limiting therotatory actuations of the feed roll for measuring the portions of thepaper roll delivered to the slot.

PAUL J. SCHNEIDER. HARVEY I-I. HOLLIS.

